[.ca] Henley, Don: Live Inside Job

From Amazon.com:
Don Henley and the Eagles may have sold a jillion albums, written some memorable songs, and established themselves as icons of the cocaine-colored '70s. But if there's one thing they weren't, it's a great live band--unless, of course, your idea of greatness includes rote, note-perfect re-creations of the recorded versions. And so it is with Henley the solo artist, at least if Live: Inside Job is any clue. Oh, it's not that this is a bad show. Au contraire. Henley's got a really good voice, a very good band, and a batch of good songs, including five from Inside Job (his first album of new material since the '80s), several solo hits, and the inevitable Eagle droppings. The guy is unquestionably a serious artist (that's serious as in "humorless"--Henley's stock in trade is sarcastic, cynical tunes like "Dirty Laundry," "New York Minute," and "They're Not Here, They're Not Coming," with their bitter ruminations on how tough it is to be a celebrity and the general decay and hollowness of contemporary culture). As such, he might reasonably claim that it's all about the music--hey, you want costume changes and firing flash pots, go see Cher or Kiss. An admirable stance, maybe, but it doesn't exactly make for a thrilling video experience. What you get is a filmed concert--nothing more, nothing less--with a couple of unexpected moments. Chief among the latter is the romping, Afro-Cuban arrangement of "Hotel California," and the presence of a 12-voice choir (led by Maxine Waters) that lends genuine majesty to "The Heart of the Matter." The choir is appropriate, because with Live: Inside Job, that's who Don Henley's preaching to. --Sam Graham

don henly the song writer:
I have been a long time Eagles fan and particular favored all the artists that have come through including henley, fry, schmidt, walsch, etc..... You cannot compare "hell freezes over" with "inside job" for a number of reasons.. First of all"Hell freezes over to me is the bench mark of reproduction of live concert that with all those boys together puts on a show like no other... to me Timmothy B has great singing ability, Walsch has his own unique blend of input into the show that he does not get credit for and truely has great abilities... Henley I feel has more passion in his singing surrounded by these guys however in Inside job if you truely want to appreciate the man, the song writer, the "passion" it is a great concert and dvd... great quality as a music experience and not a flashy show but great quality music.. My only dissapointment is the changing of Hotel California. He should have finished a more traditional version but who am I to judge. There are so many classics but as usual coming off this new album "Taking you home" will always be a favorite... "everything is different now" is a great version and a underated song along with "My thanksgiving" Desperado in his last verse makes a difference than the usual, and " There not here, they're not coming" is just a fun road song.... My last comments are as a person myself with a love of music, Henly truely is a great song writer..

This is Henley:
Don Henley isn't, and never will be, a flamboyant artist and this DVD only serves to prove it. The man takes his music very seriously and expects to be taken seriously in return. What this serves to produce is a very polished stage performance. As with Eagles performances, "Live: Inside Job" is an extremely good display of top quality musicianship. Henley gives impassioned and nearly flawless renditions of the best of his solo career, some Eagles material (including a twist on the classic "Hotel California") and some good new material. He is well backed up by an excellent band and choir. This is an excellently produced DVD. None of the material seems out of place, it is visually pleasing but most importantly with anything that Henley does the sound is rich and enveloping. All in all this is a fantastic listening experience for Henley fans but also for anyone who can appreciate good musicianship.

Splendid!:
It seems, as time goes on, Henley just gets better. With the eagles he came up with 'The Last Resort' possibly one of the prettiest use of chord sequences about and powerful words to accompany them. Then solo with classics 'The End Of The Innocence' and 'New York Minute' and now with what I regard the best two tracks on this album 'Goodbye To A River' and 'Damn It Rose'. The latter trying to convey the suicide of a close friend. What you hear is what you get with Henley. He has to be the finest vocalist 'live' I've encountered. As for his songwriting let me put it this way, I'd put him up next to Roger Waters with the way his songs always manage to move me. Shame they left the two best songs form the album off the DVD. Splendid work Mr Henley. Time to take another eleven year break it was worth the wait.

Henley Fizzles Solo:
I love Don Henley but I love him with the Eagles. In this show, once you get past the Nehru jacket, the orange hair & the dark glasses, he barely tries to give anything resembling a performance. He stands there looking smug, virtually saying to his audience 'don't I write great lyrics' and 'I'm a great singer, aren't I'. The appallingly offhand version of The Heart Of The Matter has been swamped by the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over version. What he does to his most famous song, Hotel California, beggars belief. Those legendary gravel-lined vocal chords are no more than adequate. And perhaps this is being petty, but the anonymous band are given two separate credits for a 'Musical Director' and a 'Band Leader', both of which, when Henley is in his rightful place with the Eagles, are handled by someone called G. Frey, without a credit.

DTS surround gets better at the beginning of Lilah!?!:
Great DVD! I agree with others that the DTS mix is not as good as 'Hell Freezes Over' but it's certainly a pleasant listening experience. One thing I notice with my DVD (which I'm not sure if it's a defect or what) is that, on either the DTS or DD version, the rear surround speakers seem to become more noticeable half way in the middle of the flute solo at the beginning of Lilah. You can actually hear the flute sound move from the front to the rear speakers (hummm!?!). Before that point, there is not much going on in the rear speakers, but after that point, the surround experience is greater with more instrumentation and background vocals coming from the rear. Is it just me?!? I'll probably return the DVD for another copy to hear if it acts the same way. None the less, the sound quality is very clean and this DVD is a keeper!